‘Children must prepare to lead the nation’

Vice President of the Ziaur Rahman Foundation and eminent physician Dr Zubaida Rahman on Monday called on children to prepare themselves as the builders of tomorrow’s Bangladesh, saying the country’s future depended on a generation equipped with education, values and leadership.

Speaking during visits to government-run child care and rehabilitation facilities in Tejgaon and an interaction programme with children, she said proper education and moral upbringing would enable children to succeed in their respective fields and represent Bangladesh on the global stage.

Members of the government children’s home welcomed her with dance, songs and cultural performances, which she watched with appreciation, praising the children’s talent and expressing confidence in their future.

Emphasising the importance of honesty and discipline from an early age, Zubaida said a strong moral foundation was essential for raising responsible and ideal citizens.

Highlighting the need to strengthen early childhood care, she said women accounted for 50.58 per cent of Bangladesh’s population, or about 90.42 million people, while children aged 0 to 14 made up 28.36 per cent of the population.

Recalling a personal memory from her school days, she shared the story of a teacher who had had to leave her young daughter alone at home while working to support the family. Although the child later recovered from emotional distress and became professionally successful, Zubaida said such experiences could leave lasting psychological effects.

She noted that many working mothers still faced similar challenges in areas where daycare facilities remained unavailable, forcing them to leave children without adequate care while earning a livelihood.

Citing government statistics, she said 123 Child Development Centres currently provided daycare services to only 7,360 children, representing just 0.034 per cent of the country’s child population.

Zubaida said mothers could not fully concentrate on their work while worrying about their children’s safety, and children deprived of quality early childhood care lost valuable opportunities for learning, social interaction and healthy development.

She called for universal access to quality pre-primary education and early childhood development programmes, saying these were essential to building strong cognitive and social foundations.

Thanking caregivers for their dedication, she said they not only cared for children with compassion but also enabled mothers to remain economically active by providing a safe environment for their children.

Describing early childhood as the most critical stage of human development, she said daycare centres were not merely childcare facilities but institutions that helped shape the country’s future.

Addressing caregivers, Zubaida said they performed two important national responsibilities simultaneously by nurturing children’s education, culture, humanity, discipline, curiosity, perseverance, tolerance, mutual respect and patriotism, while also helping reduce unemployment among women by supporting their participation in the workforce.

During her visit, she first inspected the Government Children’s Home (Girls) in Tejgaon before visiting daycare centres at the Land Bhaban and Water Bhaban.

She later attended a workshop on “Early Childhood Care and Development” under the Ministry of Women and Children’s Affairs’ daycare centre programme as the chief guest at the Water Bhaban Multipurpose Hall.

Among those attending the programme were Water Resources Minister Shahiduddin Chowdhury Anne, State Minister Farhad Hossain Azad, State Minister for Social Welfare Farzana Sharmin, while the workshop was chaired by Minister for Women and Children’s Affairs and Social Welfare A Z M Zahid Hossain.